Sagat Fiends
Sagat Fiends (or Sagats / Fiends) are a zombie-like race inhabiting the small island of Grek, north of Artidax. History Creation and Duty The Sagat Fiends were created by the Great Beings over 100,000 years ago to do the unappealing job of managing the waste inside of the Great Spirit Robot. At the time, they did not care as they were specifically created and programmed with the task. Founding of the Ego When the inhabitants were given free will by a Great Being, the Sagat Fiends started becoming more and more cocky and arrogant. The evolution to a more narcissistic behavior was most likely caused by the longing for a more ingratiating and purposeful job. At this time a Sagat Fiend, known as Salibakar, became one of the most legendary among his people for the invention of the Ego. The Ego was the belief that one should raise his confidence to the extreme and devote themselves to self-preservation in order to have a better destiny and break free of Grek's muck. Due to this boost in motivation, the Sagats started building incredible cities and created a distinct culture based around the Ego. Salibakar mysteriously disappeared around this time. Some say he died others believed he made a new destiny for himself and wandered the Matoran Universe. First Confrontation With Outsiders At the peak of development of the Ego, the Sagats were greeted on the shore by a Makuta assigned to the island to oversee it following the Barraki's failed takeover of the Matoran Universe. This Makuta was followed by a small army of Visorak and Rahkshi. All went well until the Makuta did not understand the Sagat Fiends complex customs and killed one for getting in an argument with him (which was a custom of theirs he did not understand). The Barawkrav, the ruling council of Sagat Fiends, saw this as an act of aggression and made up a militia of willing Fiends (which was hard to do because of their self-preserving nature), called Gordenkom, to assemble and fight back. This is when the Sagat Fiends discovered their ability to rebuild themselves as well as their vision powers and rust manipulation. The Gordenkom killed the small army and took the Makuta to court, he was found guilty (as he had no back-up) and was executed. After this incident, the Brotherhood of Makuta left the island alone and aside from some small skirmishes and invasions from other nations, the rest of the Matoran Universe forgot about them again. Post Reformation of Spherus Magna Along with the other inhabitants of the Matoran universe, the Sagat Fiends would evacuate the Great Spirit Robot and eke out an existence for themselves on Spherus Magna. Physiology & Psychology Physiology Sagat Fiends are bipedal sapient beings who stand at around roughly the size of a Toa and can sometimes be taller. They have a mismatched look as they constantly change and upgrade themselves. One thing to look for when identifying a Sagat Fiend is to look for their skull-like head, which usually stays the same. Sagats also have a signature wallowing gait adding to their zombie-like nature. Sagat Fiends have no control over any particular element but have been observed manipulating certain metals. Upon closer inspection, the power seems to be over rust and can make anything rust be grasping the object and what appears to be biting it causing rust to spread throughout the object. Sagat Fiends are very diverse in nature ranging from thin and lanky to wide and thick. The height of these creatures are relatively similar, standing from about the height of an average Toa to taller. These diversities in their species come from their mismatched limbs and other body parts. It seems that a Fiend can repair itself as long as the head and vitals are intact. (Although how one would repair itself without limbs is beyond comprehension). These tendencies to constantly change parts to newer and perhaps stronger parts comes from their devotion to self-preservation which is an important part of their culture. Sagat Fiends also have the uncanny ability of having many different types of "visions". the powers of these range from heat to even seeing into the future. The bloodline of a Sagat Fiend doesn't determine the "vision" the Sagat Fiend gets as it is always random. The evolutionary process for this has baffled many scholars and theorists. Psychology Sagat Fiends have been known to be egotistical to other species and are prone to obnoxious rants. This is because they value self-preservation over anything else and will gladly sacrifice others for their own safety. This kind of devotion to one's self is looked up upon in the Fiend's society. It is ceremonious to greet each other with an insult. This is because it will test their egos, if they falter then they are punished, if they don't then they are greeted as equals. When two Sagat Fiends have a disagreement the protocol is to have a lengthy argument which usually solves problems as most of them are about who can survive longer than the other in any given situation. If that does not work then they go to an arena and fight one-on-one. The winner is the one who scratches the other face, as it can't be repaired. These type of fights are rare in their society as most Sagat Fiends decide that it is not worth getting their face scratched. Should their faces get disfigured, they are publicly shamed. To an outsider Sagat Fiends can be a narcissistic and cruel race, but Sagats are considered friendly and even gracious to each other. In their society it is customary for a Fiend to enlist several close members to help with his or her first part changes, dubbed Eyedekas (pronounced I-ed-eck-as) in their language, and symbolizes one's maturity. This is because it helps heighten one's ego with the prospect of others doing his or her work for them and trusting one another. The Sagat Fiends may be very pompous but are keen on working together. This has allowed them to make better replacements for their bodies and strengthened their armies. Politics Government The Sagat Fiend's society doesn't have any tiers or classes but is ruled by a leading council, called Barawkrav. Members of the Barawkrav are voted for by the civilians. To even be eligible to be voted for, one must attend the Vavillion, a school designed only for teaching about the culture, history, and politics of the Sagat Fiends. After attending the Vavillion for 13 years, the candidate must be approved by an existing member of the Barawkrav, then wait another 12 years to be called up for candidacy. In all it takes 25 years to even be given the chance to be elected. If one fails, they must wait another 25 years. Politics in Sagat society is relatively simple, the Fiends are not an outright violent race so war is not a problem. Sagats in the Barawkrav must keep the Sagats happy by solving disputes. Most are egotistical, but are problems none the less. Members of the Barawkrav always try to get the others to look bad as to improve the chances of that member being asked to step down. Although it sounds easy, since Fiends can get into tedious arguments, they actually can hold ground for decades. Law and Criminal Justice Law-making in Sagat society is rare as not many Sagats are law-breakers. If a crime is committed, the punishment is usually severe. For some petty crimes, punishment is to bear a scratch on the face which is really shameful in society. Other penalties include: Limbs being ripped off, getting whipped, and being beaten badly to the point of life support. The last penalty is feared by other Fiends and is reserved for the worst criminals. This is because as stated above, Sagats devote a lot of their time to self-preservation so the prospect of being near-death is worse punishment than being killed. When committed of a crime in Sagat society, the accused can make a case in front of a judge, known as a Sermene, and plead guilty or not guilty. The defendant can bring back-up as more evidence. Court cases are also a form of entertainment and provide crowds with drama to talk about and gossip. Court cases are also very noisy because Fiends in the crowd usually yell out their verdict. In the end of a trial, if the accused is not guilty they are released without charge. If guilty, the judge has full power over what punishment the criminal gets. There is no jail in Sagat society so after the punishment the criminal is freed. Military The Sagat Fiends are not a warmongering race and as such do not have much of an army. However, contact with outsiders have been less than successful due to their pompous nature and a culture considered different by outsiders and have angered the more violent races. Due to this, the Barawkrav made an emergency militia, known as Gordenkom, to combat outside threats. Each member of the Gordenkom are equipped with face shields to protect their faces and projectile weapons called Shevaskors, also known as Junk Shooters, that shoot pieces of molten metal that are formed into small arrow-shaped bullets. Aside from the face shields, the Sagats have no other armor other than the body parts they've made. The Fiends natural ability to survive almost impossible injuries makes them some of the toughest opponents to fight, which is why many nations just decide to leave them alone. This is a good thing because not many Sagat Fiends would want to risk their lives in the line of fire. However, the Sagat Fiends lack of fighting experience and extreme endurance make them reckless, with luck being their only strategy. This means smarter adversaries may be able to out manuever them and cause them to fluster. Especially since no one in the Gordenkom is trained, more strategic battles could leave them devastated should their combination of recklessness, powers, and luck fail them. Foreign Relations Chances to communicate with other species have been futile. Due to the Sagat Fiends unorthodox culture and customs, most species are offended and often attack or leave without coming back. Some nations are trying to learn about their culture so they can communicate properly. Most nations would like to open trading routes with the Sagat Fiends mainly for the export of Jankom and their medicines. The only current relations that the Sagat Fiends have with outsiders is the fact that Grek is the garbage dump of the Matoran Universe and that they are constantly getting trash dumped off at their shores from the surrounding islands. Whatever few brave souls that have tried sneaking onto Grek and poking around have been met with punishments and even death. The name of their species also comes from the outsiders describing the species as vicious and fiendish. The Sagat part of their name is of unknown origin but is probably referring to someone or something. Culture Belief System The Sagat Fiends do not have a set religion of sorts but they believe that the only way one can achieve greatness and eternal life is through the power of the Ego. This has been printed into their minds over centuries and they believe that they should make whatever decisions they need to do to survive and live another day. However, given their less than glorious past they know of their duty to the Great Spirit and continue to do their job willingly as long as they do not die. Architecture Living on the giant trash bins of the Matoran Universe that is Grek, the Sagat Fiends architecture has been based on what they could make that was dumped there. However, in ancient times before Grek overflowed with junk, the island of Grek was made almost entirely of a marble-like substance and at the highest point of Grek is their capital city, Jenassa. Jenassa is the last ancient city they have and is carved entirely of marble, excluding some decorations. The buildings made by Fiends are well taken care of and even the newer cities made of trash are just as clean. The architecture of the building feature multiple columns and stacked stories as well as large arches that decorate and support the ins and the outs of most buildings. Language The Sagat Fiends speak a very broken Matoran language mixed with some words that they made, known as Sagata. Because of being isolated for such a long period of time, their language branched off and evolved (or devolved depending on one`s perspective) into what it is now. Cuisine The Sagat Fiends did not have a steady diet and ate whatever they could find within the piles of junk on the island. Although, they invented a drink known as Jankom that was made by distilling and fermenting the polluted water that came from the Gorge River, a river massively polluted by garbage and if drunk could be toxic to some species. When complete, Jankom was said to be highly addictive and tasted like whatever the drinker wanted. This is because some of the chemical found in the Gorge River, known as Brasinine , is highly concentrated into these drinks. Brasinine is a chemical that messes with the sense of taste in the drinker making them hallucinate when in contact with the mouth and thinking it tastes differently. Health The healthcare for the Sagat Fiends is really important as they have devoted much of their lives to self-preservation. The field of medicine has been improving in Sagat society for centuries, vats upon vats of experimental medicines are secured safely in case of disaster (which in this case is some kind of disease) should one befall them. Many Sagat Fiends find work in the health care industry finding work as scientists, doctors and everything in between, even specialists if they are not working in the garbage disposal industry. Trivia * This entire page took up my entire day. * I am planning on making a MOC that is this species one day. * They have traits of zombies. * The drink Jankom is based off the popular African inhalant, Jenkem. Which I think is also a drug but here, it is a non-alcoholic drink. Remember no drugs or use of alcohol on the wiki, please! = Category:Matoran Universe Category:Sapient Species